Run honors war casualties

One hundred sixteen Marines and sailors with the 3rd Regiment at Kaneohe have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the "Fallen Heroes Run" will honor that sacrifice. Teams of at least two Marines or sailors will run one of 116 laps from regiment headquarters to the Iwo Jima War Memorial and back. The run begins at 8 a.m. today, and teams will run continuously for a total of 232 miles. The run ends tomorrow at about 10:40 p.m.

Suit challenges approval of telescope

A group that wants to protect what it says is the sacredness of the summit of Haleakala filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court yesterday challenging the state Land Board’s approval for the University of Hawaii’s solar telescope project.

Kilakila o Haleakala’s lawsuit, filed by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., said UH proposes to build a 142-foot-tall observatory to house the telescope, related facilities and a parking lot near the summit.

The project would interfere with the group members’ ability to engage in traditional and customary practices in the area, the suit said.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources denied the group’s request for a formal hearing on the conservation district use application and approved the application on Dec. 1.

The group wants the court to set aside the approval and order a formal contested-case hearing on the application.

UH and state land department officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.